1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to an orthodontic buccal tube, and, more particularly, to an orthodontic buccal tube capable of preventing glue from flowing out towards a boundary between a tooth and a base, being firmly attached to a face of the tooth, and being easily removed from the face of the tooth after being used.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, methods of correcting irregularities in the teeth using orthodontic brackets and buccal tubes are widely known. In these methods, the orthodontic brackets or buccal tubes are anchored to the faces of the teeth, and then the orthodontic brackets and buccal tubes are interconnected by an archwire, so that irregularities in the teeth are corrected by the force generated by the archwire.
The orthodontic brackets are bonded to the incisors. The orthodontic bracket is typically made up of a base having a bonding face that is attached to the face of the tooth using glue, and a body having a slot that is formed on a side opposite the bonding face of the base and holds an archwire.
The orthodontic buccal tubes are bonded to the molars (e.g., first or second molars). An example of a conventional orthodontic buccal tube is shown in FIG. 1. The orthodontic buccal tube is made up of a base 10 and a body 20, the same as is the orthodontic bracket. The base 10 includes a protrusion 30 on one side thereof so as to correspond to a curved shape of the molar, and the body 20 includes a ball hook 40 used along with an elastic part or other characteristic part of an orthodontic brace.
The orthodontic buccal tube is attached to the tooth by applying glue to the bonding face 11 of the base 10 thereof. In this case, when the glue flows out and hardens at a boundary between the base 10 and the tooth, the boundary between the base and the tooth is discolored by the time orthodontic treatment is completed.
Further, like the orthodontic bracket, the orthodontic buccal tube should be firmly attached to the face of the tooth for an orthodontic treatment period, and be able to be easily separated from the face of the tooth after being used. As such, in the case of the conventional orthodontic buccal tube, the bonding face of the base is formed so as to be uneven, and a mesh is fused to the uneven face so as to enhance the bonding strength. However, when only the bonding strength of the bonding face is emphasized in this way, the orthodontic buccal tube is not easily separated from the face of the tooth after the orthodontic treatment is completed. Even if so, many residuals are left on the face of the tooth. In other words, the orthodontic buccal tube is not separated clearly.
Further, the conventional orthodontic buccal tube is picked up with a tool such as a pincette or tweezers to be attached. Since no structure is provided to catch the conventional orthodontic buccal tube, the conventional orthodontic buccal tube slips off the tool.